Market orientation and corporate performance of small and medium-sized enterprises in Saudi Arabia

Non-financial factors including quality of services, the flexibility of a company, utilization of resources, and market orientation are regarded as significant determinants that enhance the profitability-based performance of a service company or a hotel. The study investigated the interaction between these factors and hotel operating performance measured by the hospitality performance and results indicators. Data on 346 executives of Vietnam’s hospitality companies were collected. A structural equation modeling (SEM) method was utilized to examine the positive-direct and moderating effects of non-financial factors on hotel performance in terms of occupancy rate (OCR), average daily rate (ADR), and the revenue per available room (RevPAR). The findings showed that service quality ( = 0.118, p < 0.05), flexibility ( = 0.173, p < 0.05) and resource utilization (= 0.172, p < 0.05) positively affected the performance of Vietnam’s hospitality companies. Meanwhile, innovation showed no direct influence (p = 0.068) but an indirect impact on the performance through service quality ( = 0.311, p < 0.05). Market orientation did not impact the performance (p = 0.076) but it positively affected both innovation ( = 0.322, p < 0.05) and service quality ( = 0.146, p < 0.05). The study contributed to a theoretical enhancement of the current level of knowledge on the factors that affect the performance and developed a reliable scale for measuring the performance of hotels in Vietnam.

Financial performance is the fundamental aspect to test the performance of the companies. The performance of insurance sector, like any other service industry, is supposed to depend significantly on customers. When it comes to customers, it is an established fact that customer satisfaction would be an important element. Customer satisfaction primarily depends on the quality of service it gets. It can be safely hypothesized that better service quality would lead to higher satisfaction, which would ultimately lead to higher profits for the company. Studies on this relationship in the insurance sector for Saudi Arabia are missing. Hence, this study aims at studying both the profitability of companies and quality of service and tries to relate it to customer satisfaction. The results are quite surprising, as the study establishes that although the qualities of services are found wanting in many areas, companies are earning good profits. A probable reason could be the statutory nature of the services. Nevertheless, this study recommends improving the quality of services and differentiating services between age groups for further improvement.

This research aims to assess direct and indirect influences of organizational culture on job performance, as well as to evaluate the impact of each sub-element of organizational culture on such performance. It is argued that employees performance derives, on the one hand, from a long-term perspective related to changes that organizations manage and implement during their process of growth. A second dimension of organizational culture can be given through organizational values, routines and distinctive aspects of culture that allow organizations to create solid competitive advantages. Since most studies in this field were held in Western work cultures, this paper will be devoted to the analysis of this relationship within an Arabic cultural environment and more specifically within a Saudi context. A quantitative study tool, based on a comprehensive research questionnaire, was used and the sample was selected from various government departments being operative in Alkharj. The findings indicate a positive relationship between organizational culture and job performance. Likewise, four organizational culture sub-elements, namely Managing Change, Achieving Goals, Coordinating Teamwork and Cultural Strength, were found affecting positively on job performance, but with varying and distinct intensity. Only Customer Orientation was found negatively associated with job performance.